Selfless
by Lia Walker
Summary: After an accident Neal and Peter must recover with the help of their friends and family. It would've been so much easier if Neal hadn't tried to be selfless. Neal!Whump Peter!Whump Neal/Peter Slash/AU. No mature scenes.
1. Chapter 1

**Reviews = Faster updates = Love!**

**Author**: Lia Walker

**Characters: **Neal, Peter, Mozzie, Elizabeth, Jones, Lauren, June, and mentions of others.

**Category: **Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Family, and Friendship.

**Rating: **Teen for Language and Slash.

**Spoilers: **For all episodes aired through now, spoilers are possible though this is AU.

**Summary: **After an accident Neal and Peter must recover with the help of their friends and family. It would've been so much easier if Neal hadn't tried to be selfless. Slash/AU. No mature scenes.

**Disclaimer: ***Sigh* Why must they always need me to remind myself that I don't own them? But if Neal were to be for sale then perhaps….

**Author's Note: **This is my first White Collar fan fiction story and it is Slash and AU. In this story it takes place 6 months after Neal and Peter make the deal and Elizabeth has bowed gracefully out of her marriage with Peter as she realizes how happy Neal made him. They all remain strong friends.

* * *

"Dinner was fantastic June." Peter told her as she walked Neal and him to the door.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Are you sure I can't talk you to into staying for a bit longer? At least until the weather clears up?" She asked.

It was an uncharacteristically cold afternoon in Mid-December and the rain was freezing at an alarming rate.

"I'm afraid if we stayed any longer then we'd never get home tonight and Neal and I have some research to do on the DiZuto files before we make our arrests." Peter informed her.

"The DiZuto files still aren't cleared up?" June asked curiously, she knew that the two had been working on the case for nearly three months.

"It's not too far from being closed, but some of the files are inconsistent with our records and I'm afraid we may have a rogue agent on our hands." Peter told her sadly.

"Well you two bundle up and be careful." she told them as she walked over to Neal and gave him a peck on the cheek before pulling his scarf tighter around his neck.

"Thanks for everything June tonight was fantastic." Neal whispered as he returned the kiss.

The two rushed out to Peter's car to get out of the rain. Peter stuck the keys in the ignition and started the car with a second to spare.

"Turn the heat up will ya?" Peter asked Neal, though it was more of a command then a question.

Peter and Neal had been having several disagreements on recent occasions and wondered if perhaps their relationship was worth the trouble. They hadn't told anyone for fear that Neal would be thrown back in prison and left to rot out the remaining years of his sentence. It was a difficult decision to make and while Neal wanted to come out with it, Peter had refused. He 'claimed' he was worried what it would do to Neal, but Neal felt he knew the real reason Peter refused: he was ashamed.

'Why shouldn't he be?' thought Neal as they drove home and he returned to his self-loathing thoughts. 'He's a detective for gods sake and the last thing anyone needs to know is he's in a relationship with a worthless criminal like me.'

"What're you thinking about?" Peter asked as he glanced at his passenger and noticed his mind was elsewhere.

"Nothing much." Neal replied back noncommittally.

"See Neal that is one of the things that is always bugging the hell out of me!" Peter fumed.

"What?" Neal asked innocently.

"You never tell me what's bothering you. How am I supposed to fix something that only exists to you?" Peter continued.

"Maybe it can't be fixed." Neal replied as he turned to face Peter.

"What Neal what can't be fixed? I'm tired of trying to figure it out!"

"Us." Neal replied back so quietly that Peter had to struggle to hear him.

"I thought 'us' was going quite well Neal, so what seems to be the problem." Peter asked as he tried to pay attention to both the road and Neal.

"I'm sick of trying to hide it from everyone, it's so painful to see you everyday and not be able to give you a hug here or even a pat on the back there, without looks being turned our way or some snide remark being made about your 'consultant' getting a little too close." Neal told him.

Peter thought about what Neal had said and realized it was true. He realized with a sick feeling in his stomach, that as he and Neal sat at the red light he treated his partner with absolute professionalism and nothing more at work. He realized he even acted rudely towards Neal when people were looking.

"I'm sorry." Peter told him as he pulled ahead without looking at the light "I didn't realize until now what…."

His words were cut off as he unknowingly pulled into oncoming traffic. A taxi cab came hurdling towards them and struck their car on the front-passenger side and the rest of the car slid into the entire front after making it's initial impact.

Peter was thrown forward by force of the impact and hit his forehead on the steering wheel. A sliver of glass embedded itself into his cheek. He was unconscious the moment the cars came to a stop.

Neal was a bit more unlucky then Peter. The seatbelt failed to lock when the cars collided so his entire body was thrust forward and his chest collided with the dash. Glass from the windshield rained down into his hair and face. He wished he had been unconscious, but he was more then conscious when he felt the pain and heard the sickening pop as his right shoulder left the socket. His left ankle was twisted crudely as the dash was shoved into the cabin of the car.

Time seemed to slow down for Neal as he felt his body sustain each injury without the gift of unconsciousness. It seemed like hours to Neal before the cars came to a stop when in reality it had been only seconds.

He didn't need to survey himself to know he was screwed. Peter on the other hand…"PETER!" Neal yelled out then coughed as his ribs informed him that yelling was not a genius idea.

His mind was slow at processing things but he knew that they had crashed and he needed to…what was it he needed to do?

'Call 911.' he remembered

He used his left hand to fumble around in his pocket. Once he found the phone he struggled to dial 911 and raise the phone to his ear.

_911 what's your emergency?_

"Accident." he gasped out

_Do you have the address sir? _

He glanced out the window to try to read the street signs. "Benson and 5th." he told her.

"_I'm dispatching crews to the scene sir, are you able to tell me how badly yourself and the occupants are injured?" _

"There's just me and…my partner." Neal began as he glanced over to Peter and was rewarded by seeing the steady rise and fall of his chest. He was worried that Peter was more badly injured then himself to he downplayed his injuries to the operator. "I'm not hurt to badly but my partner is bleeding from his head and he hasn't regained consciousness."

_Have you lost consciousness at all sir? _

"No." he told her as he hung up the phone, he just didn't have the energy to stay on the line.

He sent Jones a 911 text and then closed his eyes and waited.

He heard sirens only minutes later and was relieved to see the paramedics as they swarmed around the cars.

He heard broken bits of conversation as they checked on the driver of the taxi. "DOA….Open containers…..obviously drunk…."

Finally two paramedics rushed to their car and pried both doors open with the assistance of the Fire Department.

As the one man began assessing Neal, Neal waved him off. "I'm fine." he insisted

"Let me be the judge of that." the Paramedic told him, but Neal was adamant. "I said I'm fine! Help my partner!"

"What've you got over there Hal." The paramedic closest to Neal asked.

"Male late thirties, probable concussion and facial laceration. Ribs are in tact, vitals are strong. Prepping for transport now."

"If your refusing care at the scene there isn't much I can do but I'm going to assume you want to ride a long and assuming that's the case the doctors at Mercy will want to evaluate you further." the paramedic told him.

Neal nodded "That's fine but he goes first." Neal glanced to the other side of the car where Peter had just been extricated and glanced through the rain as he was loaded into the ambulance. "Come on man I'll help you up." The paramedic told him as he extended a hand towards Neal.

Neal gratefully accepted the hand and pulled himself forward. As soon as his injured foot touched the pavement and his body was pulled forward his knees buckled. If it weren't for the firefighter standing behind him and the paramedic in front of him he would've fallen.

"Are you okay sir?" The paramedic asked him as they eased him back into the car.

"My ankle." Neal gasped through the pain " I think I might've sprained it."

"Hal get us that extra stretcher!" the paramedic yelled through the rain.

Peter who'd regained consciousness shortly after his extrication heard the paramedic call for the stretcher and immediately became concerned about his counterpart.

"I'm going with you!" he demanded as he struggled to get up from the stretcher he was on.

"Your not going to help your friend if you collapse on the pavement so just hang tight and we'll get him back to you." Hal told him.

Peter laid back knowing he was right, but not liking it one bit.

Hal rushed forward to the car with the gurney to meet them. "What happened?"

"Apparently hero here thought he was 'fine." The paramedic told Hal

"Before we move you I want to know what we're dealing with kid." Hal said as he kneeled on the ground in front of where Neal was sitting.

"But…" Neal tried to object.

"Not butts kid." Hal interjected "I've been doing this job longer then you've been alive and I know when you're not 'fine' as you so helpfully stated. Peter is fine and he regained consciousness, you're our concern right now."

Neal submitted to the tests as soon as he heard that Peter was fine. They slipped a C-Collar around his neck and he allowed himself to be placed on a back board. Hal noted that Neal's respirations were low so he had the firefighter go to the ambulance and grab the oxygen.

They rushed him into the ambulance as they grimly realized that his stats were bottoming out.

Peter's eyes widened when he saw his 'fine' partner being rushed into the ambulance.

He insisted he was well enough to sit on the bench seat which allowed the paramedics to fold the collapsible stretcher and to better assess Neal.

The had removed his shirt and cut slits up his pant legs to assess his ankle and any other possible leg injuries.

"Right side anterior shoulder dislocation." Hal pointed out as they searched for injuries they'd originally missed "Several broken ribs, his belly is hard as rock there's an internal bleed somewhere." Hal continued.

"His left ankle looks badly sprained, a probable break in there somewhere." The other paramedic who Peter had recently learned was named James.

"Shit!" Hal exclaimed, surprising both James and Peter. "Kid's blood pressure is bottoming out, we've gotta step it up a little or he's not gonna make it!"

"Damn! Respiratory arrest!" James shouted. The two paramedics expertly slid the airway down Neal's throat and Peter handled the Ambu bag.

"He's in arrhythmia." Hal told James as they entered the hospital parking lot.

They all glanced to the monitor as the wailing flatline rose across the screen.

They immediately began chest compressions while several doctors swarmed into the ambulance and took the stretcher from it. Leaving Peter to follow one of the doctors that had taken hold of his arm.

"It's alright sir, he'll get the best of care." Hal assured him as he followed alongside Neal.

'God kid I'm sorry.' Thought Peter 'Please don't leave me now.'

* * *

*Reviews = Faster updates = LOVE! Was it good? Bad? Horrible? Let me know!


	2. Chapter 2

Reviews = Faster updates = Love!

Author: Lia Walker

Characters: Neal, Peter, Mozzie, Elizabeth, Jones, Lauren, June, and mentions of others.

Category: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Family, and Friendship.

Rating: Teen for Language and Slash.

Spoilers: For all episodes aired through now, spoilers are possible though this is AU.

Summary: After an accident Neal and Peter must recover with the help of their friends and family. It would've been so much easier if Neal hadn't tried to be selfless. Slash/AU. No mature scenes.

Disclaimer: *Sigh* Why must they always need me to remind myself that I don't own them? But if Neal were to be for sale then perhaps….

Author's Note: This is my first White Collar fan fiction story and it is Slash and AU. In this story it takes place 6 months after Neal and Peter make the deal and Elizabeth has bowed gracefully out of her marriage with Peter as she realizes how happy Neal made him. They all remain strong friends.

* * *

"Jesus Neal" Peter muttered as he sat in the cold unforgiving chair at Neal's bedside, his hand was wrapped tightly around Neal's own.

June was also in the room, sitting on the other side of the bed gently stroking Neal's face. The ICU had a strict two visitor policy so Jones, Diana, and Elizabeth all waited in the waiting room.

June looked to Peter "There's not much more I can do tonight, I'm going to head home so someone else can have a visit but you be sure to tell Neal that I'll be back to visit tomorrow okay?"

Peter nodded and gave her a small smile "Thank you June, for everything."

It was because of June that Neal had a _private _room in the ICU. It'd been a little over 5 hours since the accident; Peter's own injuries were minor enough for him to have been discharged.

Neal wasn't so lucky.

A broken ankle, dislocated shoulder, three cracked ribs were amongst the minor injuries. The most worrying injury had been the one to stop Neal's heart: the cardiac contusion.

"What is it?" Peter had asked the doctor when he was finally allowed to enter the room.

"In laymen's terms it's a bruised heart. The type of injury can vary in seriousness but is usually caused by a blow to the chest like Neal received in the accident." The Doctor told him.

Peter paled "Does this mean that Neal is going to have permanent heart damage?"

"Not at all" the doctor began "so long as he avoids strenuous activity for the next 4 to 6 weeks and avoids getting upset or overwhelmed the problem will take care of itself. The initial impact of the dash sent the heart into an abnormal rhythm when it was thrust forward in such a violent motion, the rhythm was abnormal and the already straining lungs were forced towards his chest cavity further because of the broken ribs which resulted in the cardiac arrest in the ambulance." Peter had nodded and the doctor had left the room.

Peter began talking to Neal after June had left "I'm so sorry Neal, I should've been paying attention to the signs. How withdrawn you've been lately…it's all my fault. I-I guess we can tell people I just…don't want you to go back to jail it would kill me." Peter pulled his head out of his hands and looked at him.

Neal groaned and Peter realized that he had been listening to him the entire time "Neal?" he questioned as he tightened his grip on his hand. Neal's panicked eyes flew to the doorway and Peter quickly turned around. "D-director he began. How long have you been…" he trailed off as the director began to speak.

"Long enough." he said as he walked further into the room.

Peter immediately remembered what the doctor had said as he heard Neal's heart monitor speed up. "Neal relax please" Peter plead as he turned around to Neal who nodded his head as he fought to calm himself down.

"There is no reason to be upset for either of you." The director said "Do you think I'm blind? It's my job to know my men inside and out and as far as I'm concerned you two are a fine pair. I have to get going now that I'm down two of my best men there is lots of paperwork to be done. I don't want to see you back at the office for a minimum of two months Neal and the same goes for you Peter. Desk duty when you do come back for a little while." He left the room.

Peter turned to Neal to find him with an open mouth "Wow" Neal mouthed.

"I guess so." Peter nodded in silent agreement.

A short doctor opened the curtain a moment later with his back to them "Right in here ladies and gentlemen" was spoken in an obviously fake German accent. Diana, Jones, and Elizabeth all filtered in through the curtain that was being held open by the 'doctor'.

Peter looked confused as he had been lectured on the two visitor policy but the doctor spoke up "This pretty woman is second visitor" he motioned towards Elle—"these two are law enforcement so they can stay as long as they like."

The doctor was now standing near the bed facing away from Neal but Neal carefully reached over and grabbed the 'doctors' hand. "Hey Mozz." He rasped and the 'doctor' turned quickly towards him.

"I know not of this Mozzie figure but you have a goodnight and get better" the doctor waved to everyone before leaning over Neal "…I don't like being here anymore than you my friend." Mozzie whispered into Neal's ear as he gave him a small hug.

Peter just shook his head as Mozzie strolled off.

Diana and Jones both noticed Peter and Neal's enclosed hands. Peter noticed them both looking and shrugged his shoulders "What can I say?"

Diana looked at Jones for a moment before kissing him in front of everyone "I won't tell if you won't she promised" laughing.

"Director approves of our relationship though." Neal rasped with amusement gleaming in his eyes.

"Feels good to finally say it out loud." Peter nodded in agreement.

The road to recovery would not be short or easy. There would be more obstacles to overcome and difficult cases to crack but as long as Neal and Peter had each other and their friends it was nothing short of possible.

* * *

Cheesy I know but hey it's been 2 years I'm just glad to have finished it! Reviews = LOVE!


End file.
